Diet Foods: Not for Kids

I worked in a childcare center and the foods kids eat are sad. Some come to school with nothing packed for them and just some money that goes on Coke and chips.

very interesting...another parent made a comment about me feeding my child cheese like I was doing something wrong. I didn't see it that way, she is a growing child and doesn't just eat cheese, plus I don't overload her with really fatty foods. I think a good balance is key!

mommyzing said:
another parent made a comment about me feeding my child cheese like I was doing something wrong[...]

Diet fascists are abound. Everyone is an expert; everyone knows what is best for me.

Yet, they get the heart attacks, strokes and have a rear that needs extra space.

Diet is a new/old four-letter word, and now our kids are involved.

My strongest worry is somehow the government gets involved even more mandating certain foods, or regimes (other than regular exercise). We all know how well that always works!

It does disturb me when I see ads for KoolAid with Splenda aimed at kids..."only 10 calories!". As if kids need to worry about calories. I don't think it's good to overfeed kids either, but whatever happened to just feeding kids snacks like apples with peanut butter or celery with peanut butter and raisins? And giving kids milk to drink instead of soda?

Get Healthy, Get Fit, Live Happy said:
Diet fascists are abound. Everyone is an expert; everyone knows what is best for me.[...]

Excellent post!!!!

I grew up on Spaghetti-O's, Kool Aid, Jello, Twinkies, Jay's Chips, ect. Kraft Mac and Cheese. I wasn't fat as a kid.
Now that I've given all that up, I'm overweight. Maybe I need to go back to my 3rd grade diet.

Those calories were burned off by unstructed exercise. We spent our time was always spent outdoors. We ran, we rode, we just played until it was time to come in.

It's not like that anymore. Every little over priced suburbia has no yard or fields for kids to play. Neighborhoods are not what they use to be. Kids now have entertainment indoors with game systems and bizarre TV shows. We were more active because life wasn't so structured. Our days consisted of pick up wiffle ball games, tackle football, red light-green light, ball tag, hide and go seek. Now we simulate activities with a Came Cube.

I enjoyed your post. Not only are they diet fascists, just fascists. These are the same Nazi's who created the self esteem movement.

Great post. For that matter, this is such a fabulous blog, with great information.

It is absolutely fascinating how kids are being lured by diet foods that just aren't healthy. Thanks for alerting us to yet another study which suggests that these low-calorie sweeteners do the opposite of what's intended.

By the way, I've "tagged" you/this blog from my blog. I do hope you'll take this in the playful, adventurous, friendly spirit in which it's intended. See my e-mail, too.

Looking forward to more interesting posts.

There's a lot of pressure these days for girls to be thin. Some start to develop anorexia in their teen years.
One mom wanted to put her daughter on a diet and the doctor advised against because of the above.

Funny how older men who watched Marilyn Monroe in films still stay she was a "10" and by today's standards she would be the latest victim for a Jenny Craig commercial.

Boys don't have to worry about this as much. Some of the real macho stuff on TV is full of fat guys. There was George Foreman, Butterbean, and a lot of wrestlers, actors like John Goodman. Being fat doesn't have the negative image it does for girls.

I agree. Diets were not made for kids and will surely not contribute any positive effects. It's important that they understand the reason because some are influenced by television.

I don't think diet foods are good for children, definitely. However, they're not great for adults either (I'll except diet soda because I'm addicted). All those low-fat or fat-free products are loaded with salt and sugar. Boo!

Diet foods are not good for anyone!

I still believe that we must stick to balanced diet in order to be healthy. Some of those diets are not fit for us. We should consider the factors first before making the decision.

I believe that diet foods are not for children. I think it's clear that diet foods where create based on an adult human structure and not kids.

kitekrazy: Untrue. I wanted to be smaller since my preteens. I tried starving myself, but I didn't have the willpower to do it more than a couple days at a time. I'm too weak to be anorexic :(

But during the last couple years, I've learned how to properly lose weight and I'm working toward my goal. The statement that preteen and teen boys don't care about their weight is a terrible generalization.

Giving kids diet food products is totally going to confuse them on their eating habits as they grow up. They have no idea what the differences are and will have a tough time adjusting.